Posts Tagged ‘staff training’

How to achieve great customer service – Part 2

Monday, August 27th, 2012

Direction

We’ve already talked about defining what we mean by great service, now this needs communicating. Discuss with your team what your guests expect and how to meet those expectations. Focus on telling people what you want to achieve, i.e. the end result, rather than dictating how to do it.  This gives people flexibility to adopt their own style.

However, be prepared to explain in behavioural terms when necessary, so rather than just saying ‘welcome guests’, give some examples of the types of things you’d expect to see them doing or hear them say if there’s any doubt about what this means. The more specific you are and more examples you give the easier it is for people to understand. Then lead by example so there are no mixed messages.

Encourage your team to take the guest journey, and see everything from a guest’s point of view as often as possible; they’ll invariably spot things that can be improved to enhance the guest experience, and this helps them put the whole customer experience into perspective.

Establish systems and guidelines where necessary and adequate tools and resources to meet these expectations. Too much red tape, staff shortages, unreliable equipment or a poor product will only lead to frustration and is bound to have a knock-on effect on staff’s ability to deliver great customer service.

 

Regular communication

Keep staff up-to-date at all times. Conduct daily briefings to cover such information as: VIP guests, special needs, regular guests and any known preferences so staff can anticipate their requirements, today’s menu and details of all ingredients, special offers and events or deals, other activity in or around the hotel that could impact the guest in any way, staff shortages and cover of responsibilities. These actions ensure your staff are fully briefed and competent to deal with any guest’s queries or concerns.

The daily briefing also provides an opportunity to get feedback on any guests’ comments. You can discuss any questions or suggestions that arise about operational issues that could have a bearing on the level of service your guests receive.

So, even on your busiest mornings make sure these briefings still happen; it’s generally on the busiest days that things go wrong.

In part 3 of the blog,  I will looking into empowerment of the staff and by giving them the training and skills that are needed, to gain the customer’s confidence.

 

How to Get the Best from your Seasonal Staff

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

This month many of you will, I’m sure, be taking on additional staff for the summer season. But are they an asset or a liability? If all you do is give them an order pad or a uniform and tell them to get on with it, they could be doing more harm than good to your summer holiday profits.

Recruitment
Your selection of staff needs the same care and attention you’d give to any member of staff. Don’t be fooled into accepting someone just because they are available. Now more than ever you need to recruit people who can hit the ground running. With the best will I the world someone with the wrong attitude is never going to leave customers with a great experience and clambering to come back. Bear in mind that for many of your customers at this time this will be their first visit, so ensure that first impression is a good one, so it’s not their last.

Direction
Everyone needs to know what’s expected of them from day one. Ensure you give them a thorough induction, which is planned out in advance. You won’t have time to revisit things that are missed, so schedule this into their first week, so they have an opportunity to absorb the information. This should include:

  • Define your values, who your customers are, and what their expectations are.
  • A clear job description outlining their responsibilities, time scales, priorities, measurements or KPIs, and how their role fits in with the bigger picture.
  • Clarify basic standards of dress, staff behaviour, time keeping, break allowance, staff meals, security, food safety, health and safety.
  • First impressions count. Specify your establishment’s standards for welcoming and greeting customers, including the booking procedures if this is part of their role. Even back of house staff need to know the protocol for greeting customers or dealing with their questions.
  • People can’t sell something they don’t know exists. Ensure a thorough product knowledge – what does your establishment offer – times of service, complementary products, etc.  Let your staff taste the dishes, explain what accompanies each dish and what it should look like, what prices include and what’s extra (especially with fixed menus or party packages).
  • Establish protocol in dealing with difficult situations, customer complaints, and awkward customers.  Define the line between handling themselves and when to seek intervention from a manager or more experienced staff member.
  • What is their role in up-selling, and what are the products you want them to promote, including any future events?  What are the benefits of these offers or products from a customers’ perspective?
  • Run through the payment procedures, including any security procedures or checks needed, and how to deal with any concerns or potential breaches.

Support and teamwork

  • Don’t leave them floundering or too scared to ask for help. Establish a clear line of reporting, and who to go to for help and guidance when needed.
  • Teamwork is key. Introduce new staff to the whole team, defining everyone’s areas of responsibility to ensure no gaps and no duplication of effort. Avoid the frictions that occur when someone hasn’t pulled their weight or others are seen to ‘interfere’ with your way of doing things.
  • Consider assigning each temporary staff member with a buddy, someone to look over their shoulder, guide them and support them as necessary ensuring, of course, that this person will be patient and supportive when asked.
  • Avoid being let down at the last minute – Provide out of hours contact numbers and establish procedures for sickness reporting.

Recognition and reward

  • If your core team are incentivised, make sure you include seasonal staff in the scheme.
  • Give them something to look forward to and keep them interested for the whole season.  Involve them in any after work social activities and maybe some incentive awarded at the end of the season.
  • Recognise potential and consider opportunities to turn part time or temporary into permanent or regular work.
  • Maintain your reputation as a good employer. Treat seasonal staff well, and they will be willing to come back next time you need an extra hand, and spread the word that you are a good employer.

Remember summer is a time when you have a excellent opportunity to wow first time visitors with a great experience, and hopefully make them into regulars or referrers. Don’t blow that one off chance.

How To Maintain A Happy And Motivated Team

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Having a happy, motivated and productive team is key to customer service, maintaining sales and controlling costs. Conversely unenthusiastic or discontented staff will not only affect the quality of service, your sales and the day-to-day running of the operation, but will also rub off on everyone else, and ultimately lead to high labour turnover.

The average labour turnover for the UK hospitality industry is around 30% (considerably higher in London). With the average recruitment and training cost per employee estimated at around £1500, this equates to a £886 million cost to the industry per annum. So it’s far more important to retain the staff that you have than to treat them as a disposable item.
If you want to retain your best people you need to give them what they want.

Communication – Training and development – Good leadership

Communication
Communication is a two-way process, not only do people need to know what’s going on, they want to be heard. Daily briefings need to include what’s happening that could affect the operation or the customer experience in any way (e.g. maintenance, staff shortages, unavailable products or services), as well as any feedback from staff on their observations or ideas. Let your team know how the business is performing, and what this means to them. Communicate any changes that are happening in the business before they happen, and how this might affect them.

Training and development
The first six weeks is critical to any new staff; it’s during this time that make up their mind whether or not this is the right job for them. Rather alarmingly it is reported that 33% of hospitality businesses don’t do any training. If this is the case, how on earth do people know what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis, let alone know how they can contribute to the business or develop their career?
Training your staff in the mechanics of the business operation puts them in a better position to contribute to cost control and income generation. If people understand how the business makes its money they are then in a position to contribute to this and put forward their own ideas.
Make training a part of day-to-day management, so it’s not seen as something that is additional or optional. This goes for both staff and supervisors/managers. Identify those who have an interest in developing their CV and are willing to take on training responsibilities as part of their own development.
Think about your succession and grow from within. Give people the opportunity for career progression as well is enhancing the skills to do their existing job. Think also about life skills; for example offering English lessons. And make use of the training grants available through the tourist organisations, colleges, and government-funded schemes.

Good leadership
All of the above points contribute to good leadership and I could go on the hours on the subject, but there are three areas in particular I’m going to home in on here.

Direction
We’ve already talked about communicating what’s expected. Set standards so that people can measure their own performance.  Be consistent, ensuring the same ‘rules’ apply to everyone. Focus on telling people what you want to achieve, i.e. the end result, rather than dictating how to do it.  This gives people flexibility to adopt their own style and you’ll be surprised how often they end up improving the process.  Lead by example so there are no mixed messages. And make sure you provide the appropriate tools, resources and training to do the job effectively.

Look and listen
Ensure that you and your management team are approachable. Provide support when it’s needed, and be receptive to when this is required. Not everyone will be confident enough to ask for help. Consult staff and listen to their ideas; they may be able to offer better ways of doing things.
Take time to talk to staff to build relationships and show an interest in them as individuals. Listen to and act quickly on any concerns. Identify what’s important to them recognising that with the varied cultures and backgrounds of your staff that their values and priorities may sometimes be different to your own.

Recognise
Recognise and reward performance and achievements. This includes giving constructive feedback-what have they done well and how it has contributed; where they have fallen short and how this can be improved. Celebrate and share successes; identify and utilise people strengths, delegating and giving them control and ownership where appropriate. Be sure to recognise all departments, including back of house staff, e.g. housekeeping is often the most undervalued department, but is commonly the most profitable aspect of a hotel.
Encourage and reward loyalty by conducting regular pay/benefits reviews. Think about incentives that are within reach of any member of staff who performs well. This might mean focusing on a different theme each month so that everyone has an opportunity to be recognised for their particular skills or strengths.

How to get your staff Upselling

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Upselling is something we are all exposed to from time to time.  And whether you sell meals, bedrooms or widgets, it’s a technique that can not only help your bottom line, but done well can give your customers an all round better experience. Here are some of the things to consider in getting your team to upsell effectively.

Wikipedia describes upselling as ‘a sales technique whereby a salesperson induces the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale’.

Upselling usually involves marketing more profitable services or products, but upselling can also be simply exposing the customer to other options he or she may not have considered previously. Upselling implies selling something that is more profitable or otherwise preferable for the seller instead of the original sale.  But is it just about increasing the customer spend, or is it also about giving the customer a better all round experience, giving them something they might have forgotten to order, or never even thought of?

McDonalds of course are the masters of this – have you ever not been offered fries or a drink to go with your burger. And when was the last time you bought an electrical appliance and not been told the benefits of an extended warranty?

What to promote
So in order to do this effectively the first thing is to determine which are the products or services you wish to promote.  It obviously makes sense to be promoting high profit items, but there can be a danger in using this as the only criteria.  Unless what you are promoting is perceived as value to the customer, it’s unlikely the sale will be achieved, and does little to build your customer’s loyalty or trust.  It’s also important to distinguish between high selling price and profitability and appropriateness to meet the customers’ needs.  For example upselling to a more expensive bottle of wine when it does not appeal to the customers tastes.

Product knowledge
Staff need to fully understand each of the products and services available:

  • What are the high profit items
  • What are the component parts of any packages
  • What’s not included, but may be relevant to offer to the customer
  • What are the ingredients in a dish
  • What does it taste like
  • What are the best accompaniments to a dish

Allow staff to experience all the products and services first hand – this will not only make them more memorable, there will be more willingness to promote if they are confident to talk about it, and it will certainly be easier to evoke emotional appeal through vivid descriptions of taste, smell, feel, if they’ve experienced them themselves.

Spot the opportunities
Let them identify all the situations that lend themselves as an opportunity to upsell – not just in their own department – but across all areas.

  • Options on accommodation – room upgrades, special packages, champagne in rooms,
  • In the restaurant – bottled water, suggestions for starters, accompaniments, side orders, deserts, desert wine, specialist coffees, after dinner drinks
  • Bar – branded beers, snack items, pasties with their coffee

I’m sure you’ll have many more specifics for your own operation
It’s also about timing – for example selling desserts – ask too soon and people say they are still too full, and go straight on to coffee, ask too late and they have gone off the idea, and want to head off home.

Behaviours
Teach staff the mechanics of upselling

  • The need for open questions to identify what the customer wants
  • How to listen actively to customers’ requests or preferences
  • How to respond, and make suggestions, or offer alternatives that best meet the customers needs
  • How would they describe each of your products and services?  Rather than a script, allow them to develop their own dialogue, one that comes naturally to them, rather than something they have to remember and run the risk of forgetting.

Practice makes perfect
It’s all very well knowing what to say, but you know how sometimes when you come to say something the words just don’t trip off the tongue as you might hope!  Let you team practise in a safe environment, based on different scenarios.

Plan for objections
Whether an objection is perceived or real, staff need to know how to deal with these.  One awkward question can shatter confidence, so train staff to get to spot and handle different situations.

  • Distinguish between a definite ‘No’, and a simple request for more information before buying
  • When it’s just a matter of timing – they are too full now, but ask me again in 10 minutes
  • They want something more, but you’ve just offered the wrong thing
  • Explain the need to identify the nature of the objection by asking open questions
  • How to demonstrate empathy and understanding of the customer’s perspective
  • How to gain trust by matching the response or offering to meet the customer’s needs

Give incentives
Link your upselling activity to some goals.  This might simply be a target to sell x number of a certain product or service, or may be linked to specific financial profit targets.  Whatever goals you set ensure these are clearly measurable and achievable, that any incentive is equitable so everyone is motivated to contribute, and that you give regular updates on progress.

Guide and support
Don’t assume because you’ve told people how to do something they will be able to just go out and deliver it consistently. Observe how your staff handle the upselling conversation and give them feedback after the event on what they did well, what they could do more of, and give the appropriate support and guidance on areas where they need more help.

Be flexible and offer hotel guests alternatives

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

You can’t bow to every request a hotel guest ever makes. But don’t be so bound by the rules that any request is met with a hostile ‘jobsworth’ attitude! If you cannot meet your guests’ initial requests, look at offering an alternative:

  • A guest wants an early breakfast, before your kitchen staff normally arrive – offer a continental breakfast or a tray instead, or at the very least a take away cup of fresh coffee.
  • You receive a request just 10 minutes before service for an alternative to the set menu for a big party – you don’t have a choice, but listen to what the guest needs to avoid and offer an alternative combination without this item.
  • Your weekend guests ring ahead and say they haven’t been able to get a dog sitter. You don’t take dogs, but can you find a local kennel who can accommodate the dog?
  • Your guest asks for a particular brand of whisky for an important client he is entertaining. You don’t stock it, so do you refuse, or phone your neighbouring hotel or pub to see if they have it in stock.

Encourage your staff to get into the mindset of looking for an alternative solution, even if the initial question has to be answered with a ‘no’, it can be followed by ‘but I can do x for you’, or ‘I know someone who could do this for you’.
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